Insulating wallpaper



May 12, 1970 UDDENBORG INSULATING WALLPAPER Filed April 21, 1966 it /?a rd Z/ahz United States Patent 3,511,335 INSULATING WALLPAPER Rikard Uddenborg, 5154 N. Clark St., Chicago, Ill. 60640 Filed Apr. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 544,250 Int. Cl. E04!) 1 99 US. Cl. 181-33 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A wall covering having three layers of flexible material, the intermediate layer comprising a thin film, preferably of plastic, having a plurality of intersecting rows of small closely-spaced apertures which border a multiplicity of imperforate panels. The inner and outer layers, which may be formed of paper, are adhesively secured to each other through such apertures, leaving the thin imperforate panels of the intermediate layer free to vibrate independently of the inner and outer layers in response to sound waves impinging on the wall covering.

This invention relates generally to wallpaper and more particularly to wallpaper having improved noise and heat insulating qualities.

Modern apartments, offices and homes are commonly constructed with relatively thin walls which are inexpensive and provide a maximum amount of usable space for a minimum cost. However, such a construction has a serious drawback in that the thin interior walls provide relatively little insulation against noise. The noise generated by the playing of a television set or operating a typewriter is readily transmitted through the thin walls to the adjacent rooms in the building. Thus, the inhibitants of many buildings are often subjected to a relatively high noise level which interferes with their normal activities.

In addition to the drawback of noise transmission through the interior walls, many buildings are unsatisfactory due to a relatively high level of heat transmission through the exterior walls of the building. On a cold day, heat is readily conducted through relatively thin exterior walls. This heat loss greatly increases the amount of fuel required for heating a building.

The prior art solution to the above problems consists mainly of constructing relatively thick insulated walls for a building. The amount of noise and heat which is conducted through these thick insulated walls is comparatively low. However, the cost of materials and labor for constructing a thick insulated wall is relatively high.

Therefore, one of the objects of this invention is to provide an inexpensive wall structure having a relatively high resistance to the transmission of sound and heat.

Another object of this invention is to provide a means for quickly and easily applying a sound and heat insulating media to a wall.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a decorative wallpaper which has improved heat and sound insulating characteristics.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from a reading of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is an exploded view showing the construction of a wall covering which forms a preferred embodiment of my invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating the details of the structure of the wall covering of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, along the line 33 of FIG. 2, of the wall covering structure;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of my invention; and

Patented May 12, 1970 FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a wall on which the wall covering of FIG. 1 has been secured.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIG. 1 a preferred embodiment of the wallpaper or covering 10. The wall covering 10 has a laminated structure which includes a flexible backing layer 12. The backing layer 12 forms a base for a wall covering structure and is preferably made of a relatively heavy flexible paper or other suitable material. A second intermediate layer 14- is juxtaposed against the first layer 12. The second intermediate layer is made of a thin pliable sheet or filrn of polythylene or other suitable polymeric material. The layer 14 is formed with a matrix of large apertures 16 which are interconnected by a series of relatively small apertures 18. A third decorative layer 20,

formed of a flexible paper, is positioned adjacent the outer surface of the second intermediate layer 14. A decorative design 21 is imprinted on the outer surface of the layer 20.

While it is not desired to be limited to any one theory, it is believed that the wall covering 10 derives its sound insulating properties from the thin sheet or film 14. It is a well known fact that sound is transmitted by vibrations. Since the sheet or film 14 is extremely pliable, the vibratons of the film are very limited. Therefore, when sound vibrations impinge on the wall covering 10, they are effectively absorbed or dampened by the pliable sheet or film 14.

From an examination of FIG. 2, it will be seen that the inner layer or sheet 14 is divided into a series of relatively small panels 22 by the apertures 16 and 18. It has been found by experimentation that the panels 22 further decrease the transmission of sound through the Wall covering 10. It is believed that the relatively small panels 22 reduce the transmission of sound because they have a different rate of vibration than the relatively large front and back panels '12 and 20. Since the panels 22 vibrate at a different rate than the two outer panels, the sound vibrations which are transmitted by the outer panels are broken up by the small panels 22 of an intermediate layer or sheet 14. This breaking up of the sound Waves or vibrations reduces the sound transmission through the wall covering 10, since vibrations which are readily conducted by the two outer layers 12 and 20 are dispersed by the inner layer 14. By the same token, the sound waves which are conducted, even to a limited extent, by the inner layer 14 will be dispersed by the two outer layers I12 and 20. Thus, the inner layer or sheet reduces sound transmission due to its pliability and the formation of a plurality of small panels which tend to disperse vibrations conducted by the large outer layers 12 and 20.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the apertures 16 are formed with an inwardly tapering edge portion 24. The inwardly tapering edge portion permits the outer layer 20 to be pressed against the backing layer 12 through the apertures 16 without forming a ridge in the outer decorative layer at the edges of the apertures 16. By the use of a suitable paste or adhesive on the surfaces of the two layers 20 and 12, at the apertures 16, the three separate layers are formed into a unitary structure. This structure results from the bonding of the outer decorative layer 20 to the backing layer 12 through the apertures 16. The intermediate layer 14 is firmly held in position by the adhesive connection between the two outer layers.

Although I use a plurality of apertures 16, in a preferred embodiment of my invention, to interconnect the backing layers 12 with a decorative layer 20, the apertures 16 and 18 can be eliminated. The elimination of the apertures 16 and 18 reduces the sound insulating qualities of the wall covering to some extent. However, due to the pliability of the inner layer 14, the sound insulating properties of the wall covering 10 are not impeded to any great degree by the elimination of the apertures 16 and 18. When the apertures 16 and 18 are eliminated, as

shown in FIG. 4, the inner polyethylene inner layer 14a forms a continuous panel to which the outer layers 12 and 20 are connected. This connection is advantageously formed by a plurality of small circular areas or dots of pressure sensitive adhesive. The dots 25 of adhesive are placed opposite each other and they securely grip the center layer when pressed against it.

The backing layer 12 is secured by suitable adhesive, as is commonly done with wallpaper, to a wall 26. As is seen in FIG. 5, the backing layer 12 is secured directly to the plaster 28 of the wall 26. The plaster 28 is supported by a suitable lath or backing 30 which is mounted on the studs 32 in the conventional manner.

In a third embodiment of my invention, I fabricate the intermediate layer 14 of a thin, bright metal foil. The use of a metal foil for the intermediate layer '14 greatly increases the resistance of the wall covering to the transmission of heat. The bright metal foil reduces heat losses by radiation while simultaneously reducing sound transmission through the wall covering. Although a pliable polymeric film has better sound insulating qualities, an intermediate layer 14 of a thin bright metal foil impedes the transmission of sound, while also reducing heat transmission.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the shape of the apertures 16 can be varied without reducing the heat and sound insulating qualities of my structure. Thus, oblong, square, or other shaped apertures, can be used. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, I utilize a round aperture, since the round aperture provides the greatest amount of bonding surface between the backing layer and the decorative outer layer, while reducing the effective insulating area of the intermediate layer by a minimum amount.

What is claimed is:

1. A sound absorbing wall covering comprising three layers of flexible material adhesively secured and arranged to provide an outer layer, an inner layer, and an intermediate layer; said intermediate layer comprising a film of thin flexible material having a plurality of intersecting rows of small closely-spaced apertures bordering a multiplicity of imperforate panels; a limited number of relatively large openings interposed along said rows of apertures; said inner and outer layers being alhesively secured together through said relatively large openings and said imperforate panels being free to vibrate independently of said inner and outer layers in response to sound waves impinging on said wall covering; said inner layer providing a surface adapted for adhesive attachment to a wall surface.

2. The wall covering of claim 1 in which said intermediate layer is formed from a thin flexible film of plastic material.

3. The wall covering of claim 1 in which said inner and outer layers are formed of paper, said outer layer having a decorative design applied thereto.

4. A flexible sound insulating wall covering, comprising in combination a paper backing sheet for adherence to a wall, a decorative sheet adapted to face away from such wall, and a flexible plastic sheet interposed between said backing sheet and said decorative sheet, a plurality of small closely-spaced apertures in said plastic sheet arranged in intersecting rows dividing said plastic sheet into a multiplicity of contiguous imperforate panels, a limited number of large openings in said plastic sheet in positions to interrupt said rows of small apertures therein, the rim portions of said large openings being tapered inwardly to form sharp edges around said openings, and adhesive material securing said decorative sheet to said backing sheet in said large openings in the plastic sheet, whereby the formation of significant ridges in the decorative sheet at the edges of said large openings is prevented.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,062,316 11/1962 Watters 18l33 1,609,222 11/1926 Taylor.

2,715,089 8/1955 Michener et al.

3,194,872 7/1965 Garner 161-250 3,226,284 12/1965 Curtis 16144 3,294,618 12/1966 Busche et al 161-250 3,385,743 5/1968 Backberg 161l ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner R. L. MAY, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

